“Adrasthea,” he was calling me by my full name, which he never did, “I need you to take my future bride out of here. She’s in grave danger. She can’t defend herself against the males here. Least of all me.”
I glowered at him. “Neither can I.”
He gave me a look of frustration. “No, I realize that, but you’re still stronger than her … and I know I can trust you.”
I licked my lips, which were surprisingly dry. “And if I do this for you, what will you do for me?”
He seemed amused. “Playing the game, are you, Thea? I’m curious. I thought the two of us …”
“The two of us what, Arik? There is no two of us. There never has been! You kept stringing me along … making me believe …” I stopped. I couldn’t continue.
He appeared angry now. “Making you believe what? That I would one day marry you? Thea, I never slept with you for a reason. There were so many other females whom I bedded …”
I did not let him finish. My heart was clenching. “Yes, exactly, Arik; you fucked everyone but me,” I hissed at him and he recoiled. Now it was his turn to get angry; he growled at me.
“I knew how you felt. I knew that if we slept together, you’d misconstrue it. I know you, Thea! You’re … soft, different than the others.” He swallowed thickly. “By Ya’u, Thea. I wanted to love you. I wanted you as my mate. But I could not. I’d seen Magda years before. I could not let the thought of her go. Every woman I fucked, I wanted it to be her. Don’t you understand?” He grunted and began pulling at his restraints.
“And now what!” I laughed haughtily. “Your human girl is finally here. What happened? Did she reject you? Is that why you’re chained up?”
He was furious, and it was clear that if I said much more, despite the magic or the drugs, he would yank the chains out of the wall. “No! I wish it was just a simple rejection.” He was cursing in Aramaic, and I got up from the chair and started to move away from him. His eyes flashed at me. They were angry and red. “I’ll kill her if I have her,” he hissed violently at me, spittle flying out of his mouth.
I backed up a step. Something had changed in the room. I could feel the tension rising significantly and the temperature rising with it. Arik was beginning to radiate strong heat and this was not a good place to be standing.
He glared at me and, to my absolute horror, his gaze shifted down to my chest. He was not interested in my breasts, but beneath, at my beating heart. I tried to focus his attention back to my face.
“Do you need another injection?” I asked carefully.
He shook his head. “No, but don’t come near me.” He took a deep breath, his eyes softening slightly. “I can’t make Magda stronger until I’m stronger. I can’t fight the other males here yet, not without open war, and I certainly don’t want to attempt it while you or Magda are still here.”
